Overview study on challenges of additive manufacturing for a healthcare application

Additive manufacturing is a rapidly evolving manufacturing technology bringing numerous and wide opportunities for the design team involved in the process by creating intricate and customized products with saving labor, time, and other expenses. Innovative AM methods and numerous practical applications in aerospace, automotive, medical, energy, and other industries have been developed and commercialized through extensive research over the last two decades. One embraced industry among others that benefited from the advances of AM is the healthcare industry. This paper focuses on addressing the challenges and opportunities in Additive manufacturing for healthcare. Although there are advanced possibilities in AM, there are also numerous issues needed to be overcome. The paper is based upon the current state-of-the-art review and study visits. The purpose of this work has been to identify the opportunities and limitations associated with additive manufacturing in healthcare applications and to highlight the identified research needs.publishedVersio

Overview study on challenges of additive manufacturing for a healthcare application

Additive manufacturing is a rapidly evolving manufacturing technology bringing numerous and wide opportunities for the design team involved in the process by creating intricate and customized products with saving labor, time, and other expenses. Innovative AM methods and numerous practical applications in aerospace, automotive, medical, energy, and other industries have been developed and commercialized through extensive research over the last two decades. One embraced industry among others that benefited from the advances of AM is the healthcare industry. This paper focuses on addressing the challenges and opportunities in Additive manufacturing for healthcare. Although there are advanced possibilities in AM, there are also numerous issues needed to be overcome. The paper is based upon the current state-of-the-art review and study visits. The purpose of this work has been to identify the opportunities and limitations associated with additive manufacturing in healthcare applications and to highlight the identified research needs

Investigation of the mechanical properties of Acacia tortilis fiber reinforced natural composite

The work presented in this paper is motivated by the fact that use of natural fiber materials for structural and non-structural applications have increased within the last two decades. In addition to the known benefits of composite materials as structural elements such as high specific modulus, high specific strength and low thermal conductivity, composites of natural fibers are eco-friendly materials and have minimum effect on environment and human health. However, the mechanical and structural performance of diverse natural fiber composites still need closer scrutiny. The objective of this study is to characterize the mechanical properties of a novel Acacia tortilis fiber reinforced polyester composite using experimental methods. In particular, the study focuses on determining the tensile and flexural properties of the composite at different fiber volume ratio, which was fabricated by hand lay-up methods. The results show that Acacia tortilis fiber reinforced polyester composites have generally competitive strength and Young’s modulus compared with common natural fiber reinforced composites such as sisal, kenaf, coir natural fiber reinforced composite materials. In addition, NaOH treated samples exhibited higher strength and Young’s modulus compared with their untreated counterparts, with few exceptions.publishedVersio

Strength analysis of 3D printed carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic using experimental and numerical methods

A study of strength of composite materials produced by 3D printing technology is presented. The samples fabrication and tests to determine the strength both in bending and in tension of the composite materials have been carried out. The composite samples were additively manufactured using Markforged® 3D printer of type Mark-Two. The fabricated composite samples were of carbon fiber filament combined with a thermoset plastic matrix, by its producer named “Onyx”. The tests provided sample mean value for the ultimate tensile strength of 560 MPa and the tensile modulus of 25 GPa. Based on the three point bending tests the ultimate flexural strength of 271 MPa and flexural modulus of 16 GPa were estimated. The tests are reported and discussed in view of stress analysis modeling the layered composite with finite element models.publishedVersio

Numerical simulation of FDM manufactured parts by adopting approaches in composite material simulation

Additive manufacturing (AM) process is a promising manufacturing method that can replace conventional manufacturing methods, particularly for parts with complex geometry. It is the process of joining materials layer by layer to make object directly from 3D model data. Due to the inherent manufacturing process characteristics, such products experience material anisotropy with mechanical properties not easy to calculate analytically. On the other hand, numerical simulation is becoming increasingly important to solve complex problems such as in composite materials. However, no significant work of numerical simulation is reported for additive manufactured parts. This paper reports an approach to numerical simulation of additive manufactured parts by adopting methodologies developed for composite materials. To fill the existing gap in this area, the mechanical properties of FDM parts are experimentally studied. The experimental samples are produced from ULTEM9085 material with different printing parameters. The mechanical properties of the samples are then analyzed and numerical simulation using finite element method is done to compare the results with experimental results and verify the simulation model. The main aim of the study is to devise a numerical simulation method for additive manufactured parts by adopting existing methods for composite materials.publishedVersio

Numerical simulation of FDM manufactured parts by adopting approaches in composite material simulation

Additive manufacturing (AM) process is a promising manufacturing method that can replace conventional manufacturing methods, particularly for parts with complex geometry. It is the process of joining materials layer by layer to make object directly from 3D model data. Due to the inherent manufacturing process characteristics, such products experience material anisotropy with mechanical properties not easy to calculate analytically. On the other hand, numerical simulation is becoming increasingly important to solve complex problems such as in composite materials. However, no significant work of numerical simulation is reported for additive manufactured parts. This paper reports an approach to numerical simulation of additive manufactured parts by adopting methodologies developed for composite materials. To fill the existing gap in this area, the mechanical properties of FDM parts are experimentally studied. The experimental samples are produced from ULTEM9085 material with different printing parameters. The mechanical properties of the samples are then analyzed and numerical simulation using finite element method is done to compare the results with experimental results and verify the simulation model. The main aim of the study is to devise a numerical simulation method for additive manufactured parts by adopting existing methods for composite materials

Investigations of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 17-4 Ph Ss Printed by Markforged Metal X

The Markforged Metal X (MfMX) printing machine (Markforged Inc., Massachusetts, USA) is one of the latest introduced additive manufacturing (AM) devices. It is getting popular because of its safety, simplicity, and ability to utilize various types of powders/filaments for printing. Despite this, only a few papers have so far reported the various properties and performances of the components fabricated by the MfMX printer. In this study, the microstructure and mechanical properties of MfMX-fabricated 17-4 stainless steel (ss) in the as-printed and heat-treated conditions were investigated. XRD and microscopy analyses revealed a dominant martensitic microstructure with some retained austenite phase. The microstructure is generally characterized by patterned voids that were unfilled due to a lack of fusion between the adjacent filaments. Disregarding these defects (voids), the porosity of the dense region was less than 4%. Depending on the heat treatment conditions, the hardness and tensile strength were enhanced by 17–28% and 21–27%, respectively. However, the tensile strength analyzed in this work was low compared with some previous reports for L-PBF-fabricated 17-4 ss. In contrast, the hardness of the as-printed (331 ± 28 HV) and heat-treated samples under the H900 condition (417 ± 29 HV) were comparable with (and even better than) some reports in the literature, despite the low material density. The results generally indicated that the Markforged printer is a promising technology when the printing processes are fully developed and optimized

Investigations of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 17-4 Ph Ss Printed by Markforged Metal X

The Markforged Metal X (MfMX) printing machine (Markforged Inc., Massachusetts, USA) is one of the latest introduced additive manufacturing (AM) devices. It is getting popular because of its safety, simplicity, and ability to utilize various types of powders/filaments for printing. Despite this, only a few papers have so far reported the various properties and performances of the components fabricated by the MfMX printer. In this study, the microstructure and mechanical properties of MfMX-fabricated 17-4 stainless steel (ss) in the as-printed and heat-treated conditions were investigated. XRD and microscopy analyses revealed a dominant martensitic microstructure with some retained austenite phase. The microstructure is generally characterized by patterned voids that were unfilled due to a lack of fusion between the adjacent filaments. Disregarding these defects (voids), the porosity of the dense region was less than 4%. Depending on the heat treatment conditions, the hardness and tensile strength were enhanced by 17–28% and 21–27%, respectively. However, the tensile strength analyzed in this work was low compared with some previous reports for L-PBF-fabricated 17-4 ss. In contrast, the hardness of the as-printed (331 ± 28 HV) and heat-treated samples under the H900 condition (417 ± 29 HV) were comparable with (and even better than) some reports in the literature, despite the low material density. The results generally indicated that the Markforged printer is a promising technology when the printing processes are fully developed and optimized.publishedVersio